RWS Food Affair (14 - 22 September 2013)

If you are into trying the wonderfully prepared, plated and great tasting food by Celebrity Chefs, you should check out the RWS Food Affair that's starting from 14 - 22 September 2013.

International Celebrity Chefs like Chef Joël Robuchon to the first female Iron Chef Cat Cora of Iron Chef America will be there. Local celebrity chefs like Chef Sam Leong, Chef Douglas Tay, Chef Li Kwok Kwong and Chef Kenny Kong.

They have so many different menus and programs, you should visit their comprehensive website at http://www.rwsentosa.com/rwsfoodaffair to check out what you like.



A few of us had a mini RWS Food Safari recently to taste what's in store for diners at the RWS Restaurants. We were having a dish or two at a restaurant and hop on to the next. It was quite an experience. It's also a preview to the food that you will get when you book the RWS Food Affair.

Pitstop 1: L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon.



There are 2 restaurants at the same venue side by side.There's L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and also Joël Robuchon Restaurant, one more casual and the other more formal.

Both are having special menu prepared by Chef Joël Robuchon. He's in town.
- Joël Robuchon Restaurant is having a Menu Dégustation, a 10-course dinner for $450++
- L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon is having a Menu Découverte, a 6-course dinner for $180++

The exact dishes you will have is available on their website.



One of the reason why we love the nicer French restaurants is the loaves, rolls and delicious carbo that goes with the butter that they serve. If you want to bring your other half out for a date, this is a nice place. I brought the wife here for her birthday last year.



At L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, you can see the whole kitchen in action. The wife and I were seated at the counter and we were just looking at everyone's food being prepared.



Another reason I love about French Restaurants are the Amuse Bouche.
I do really get amused by it!



This is the Royal foie gras custard with Red wine reduction and Parmesan foam that this place is famous for. You should just try it yourself to know how it taste! It's really good!



Back to the RWS Food Safari we had, we were to have our Cold Appetiser here.

This was "Le Crabe". It's Alaskan King Crab meat on thin layers of Japanese Daikon with sweet and sour vinaigrette. (Épicé aux fines lamelles de raves à l'aigre-doux)

You do get this in their regular menu too.



Just unveiling the daikon cover to show you what's inside. Chef said that it's the same Alaskan King Crab that they serve in all Joël Robuchon worldwide.


Pitstop 2: Osia



Just across Joël Robuchon is Osia, and we just took a few steps to come here.
Osia does Asian influence food with Western culinary techniques.

If you visit the RWS website, you can view their 4 course dinner at $130++.
The dishes served at on the website.



We had our warm appetizer here. Chef prepared a corn meal crusted Foie Gras on top of daikon and a mix of beetroot, rhubarb and riberry.

I thought the corn meal crust was a bit different from the usual, but it gave it a nice crunch. It was also not too raw, so it was nice. I guess you can always tell them how you like it.


Pitstop 3: Forest森

We celebrated a family birthday here and we loved the food here. I think it's because we all loved the food prepared by Chef Sam Leong. I remember how excited my mum and aunt were, when we got them to a Chef Sam and Forest cooking class last time at ToTT. (it was all a ploy to get them to learn and cook for us!)

If you have Cantonese speaking parents, Chef Sam Leong will get along very well as they chat about food. At Forest森 on 14 Sep 2013 (Sat) from 12 to 4pm, there's a Sam & Forest Leong Cooking Masterclass (which includes 4-course lunch) at $160 nett (max 16 pax)



At this pit stop, Chef Sam Leong and Chef Make Tan of Forest森 welcomed us. We were served this creation from Chef Mike Tan. Steamed New Zealand Cod Fish with Yuzu Mushroom Sauce. It looks like Mei Cai over cod, but it's actually very very delicious and fragrant Yuzu Mushrooms!

Somehow this combination is just superb and the cod was cooked to perfection. 


Pitstop 4: Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora.



This place is simply amazing!!! It's the place where you dine with the sea creatures that swim around you. If you follow me on Instagram (@keropokman), you would have seen two InstaVideos that I have.

This fabulous venue is also where the "RWS Celebrity Chefs Dinner" will be held.
This is the dinner that all 6 celebrity chefs will prepare a six-course dinner for you.You’ll be treated to Ayala Brut Majeur NV Champagne upon arrival, and free flow of Penfolds Bin 2 Shiraz Mourverdre and Penfolds Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling during dinner.

The chefs will be present to talk to you and for you to take photos!

Date: 7pm, 18 Sep 13 (Wed)
Venue: Ocean Gallery, S.E.A. Aquarium
Price: $288++
The menu is online at the RWS Website.



At this pitstop, we had Chef Yew from Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora prepared this dish for us. Kurobuta Pork Belly and Fried Octopus (the 2 mini tube like thing). Served with Sauerkraut Purée, Cabbage Roll and Mustard.

The pork belly had been sous vide and then seared to make it crisp. It's something for die hard pork lovers who love the fatty bits! I never had Sauerkraut in a purée form before. The cabbage roll was kind of pretty too isn't it?



At this same pitstop, Executive Pastry Chef Kenny Kong made us Yuzu Mango Cremuex with Gula Melaka Streusal with Milky Lemongrass Sorbet. So beautiful and what a plethora of taste.

So much details went into making this. Sometimes I wonder which one to start to fully appreciate this beautiful art piece.

Chef Kenny is the President of the Singapore Pastry Alliance.



Chef Kenny decided to have an extra treat for us by making us these lollipops!

Hope you enjoy this little preview of the RWS Food Affair.
Visit http://www.rwsentosa.com/rwsfoodaffair for the full details and bookings.

For the prices you see above, if you book using a MasterCard you get 20% off.
The 20% off is also applicable for RWS Invites members.

Din Tai Fung @ Baits, Resorts World Sentosa

KopiKosongGirl and I have many things in common and yet we have equally different way of doing things. She is a planner. Every activity for the week or maybe till next month has been planned. I am more of an impromptu person. Sometimes, I think I drive her nuts.

After so many months, I guess she might have gotten used to me and does things out of the ordinary. Just the other Saturday, we woke up and then decided to just go into Sentosa. We boarded the monorail in and decided to stop at Resorts World Sentosa.

Our annual pass for Universal Studio expired and we did not renew it, so this time we did not go in. We walked around and decided we would have breakfast to eat. We found Toastbox and had a set breakfast. Feeling satisfied, we walked around some more and at 11am, we happened to walked past Din Tai Fung.

Images of Xiao Long Bao floated and we saw it was empty. It's rare that Din Tai Fung has no queue so we went in! We noted, 5 minutes after 11am is a good time to have lunch here. No queue, no crowd, it's like having the whole place to ourselves! It's so peaceful!



Taiwan Shrimp and Pork Oriental Wantons with Spicy Sauce.

We saw that it was a new item and we thought we would order it. Shrimp and pork combi had a nice bite, slightly 'qq' and there were quite a few of it too. Probably 8-10 of it. The Spicy Sauce is more like the chilli oil but it was sweeter.



Crunchy Mini Cucumber in Spicy Sauce

You all must be thinking we are mad having all Spicy. Though both were spicy, this cucumber dish's spicy sauce has more vinegar in it. KopiKosongGirl prefers this version of spicy sauce. I prefer the other sweeter version of it.


Xiao Long Baos

The normal XiaoLongBaos. So many places are serving these and we still like them because their skin here is thin and very soupy.

We left before the crowds came. We took the monorail out and went home.

Din Tai Fung @ Baits Resorts World Sentosa 26 Sentosa Gateway #01-217/222 Singapore 098138 Tel: +65 6686 3565

Malaysian Food Street @ Resorts World Sentosa

It was one of our colleague's birthday. We asked him what he would like to eat and he said let's go to the Malaysian Food Street and order from as many stalls to try out the food. We were all game for it because it was not possible to order a lot of things with only a few person.

Our colleague had actually done some research. It seems that not all stalls are open everyday. There are different rest days for the stalls, so the best time to go is during the weekend or Fridays. We went on a Friday!


If you are like us, wondering where it is, it's near the entrance of Universal Studios.
The stalls mostly open at 12 noon, some at 11am, so the best time to arrive is around 11:45am.  We arrived around 11:45am. For some stalls that seems to be popular, there were already queues forming!!



Once you get in, you see a trishaw and directions to the different streets famous for their food in Malaysia. Hmm, where is Jalan Tengkera?



One thing I like about this place is the high ceiling.
They transformed the place to look like the nightly road side stalls!



Like military precision planning, all of us went to queue at different stalls. I queued at the Klang Bak Kut Teh stall. I had to wait because the stall opens only at 12 noon.


I ordered the biggest set meal on the menu. (We got to share with so many people). I think it was around $8 or $9 for the pork ribs with mushrooms, dough fritters and rice.

The soup was tasty, it's the herbal kind instead of the peppery style in Singapore. It has been some time since I went to Klang to have the Bak Kut Teh to remember exactly how it should taste like, but it was tasty. It has a nice herbal flavour but that too overpowering. The pork ribs were not the big long ones though. They seemed to have cut them shorter.

It gets cold rather quickly because of the strong aircon there, so don't wait for your friends! Eat it quickly or order it later after other long queue food are almost ready.



The Ampang Yong Tau Foo.
It has been a long time since I had these in KL too. Presented on a big plate made it looked a bit bare. Taste wise it's all right, not something to really die for. Make a trip up to KL!



The Penang Lor Mee.
I did not really taste much of this. We took quite a long table, and the Lor Mee was at the other end of the table.  Looked very different from the photo on the RWS website though. Looks gooey, very different from the ones I had in Penang just last month!



Penang Char Koay Teow.
It's actually quite decent! No lardy crispies here. Like a healthier version of the Penang ones. For most stalls in Penang, the serving are usually quite small and there's no big prawns. Here the portion was quite big and they throw in bigger prawns too.

(The exception is of course if you eat at the famous Penang Goggle Man version, which charges RM8-10! That is something to die for. I wonder why RWS did not get them in!)



Claypot Chicken Rice.

When we got there, the stalls already took order and started cooking though they only start operating at 12 noon. We ordered 2 pots of it. It took around 40 mins for the order to be ready. If you have time, this is worth the wait!

The long wait was because the rice was cooked from scratch in the claypot. It was also cooked over charcoal fire. The cover it seems were also topped with hot charcoal! Heated from the top and bottom!


That's one of my colleagues mixing up the rice.

All of us liked the claypot rice. The chicken were well marinated. We noticed that it had a nice crunch in the rice too.  The crunch was probably the mix from the crispy layer below with the soft fluffy rice. After reading about this stall online, it seems they use 3 different kinds of rice in it, maybe that's why it taste rather unique.  We would definitely order the claypot rice again when we visit this place.

We also had the dim sum which was nice, but not really spectacular. Colleague also ordered the wan tan noodles. Another colleague was queueing for the longest queue at the whole place, the Hokkien Noodles, but we told her to give up, all the rest of the food have arrived and we were already very hungry. We will try that next time!



The Ice Kachang. It looked like those in Malaysia. No weird colours that we find in many places in Singapore. Oh, sarsi cordial too on it! Surprisingly it was not too sweet.  We expected it to be super sweet like most desserts in Malaysia.



The chendol was also nice. The correct colour of chendol too! Pale green colour (not bright freaky green) and they were really generous with the gula melaka.

I think RWS should have hunted and invited this Chendol stall from Batu Pahat. Of all the chendol I have tasted, the best one were from Batu Pahat!

A place to visit if you are tired of the similar food courts all around Singapore. It's quite an interesting idea. If you want to try not that bad Malaysian food without your passport, you can give it a try. Claypot rice, Fried Kway Teow were nice. Klang Bak Kut Teh was also not bad.

Malaysian Food Street @ Resorts World Sentosa 8 Sentosa Gateway Sentosa Island Singapore 098269

Anar @ Resorts World Sentosa

It was a Saturday noon time and the weather's sweltering! It was so bright, sunny and humid plus the warm winds blowing was making me very uncomfortable.

I have not been to the Middle East but I am imagining that I was! I was going to try the food at Anar, a Middle Eastern Restaurant that hails from United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to Kelvin of Touch Communications and Toufik of Anar who hosted TheHungryCow and I, this might be the only place where Middle Eastern food is served as it is in the Middle East in Singapore.

To get to this place, the easiest way is to go in via the Sentosa Boardwalk. At the end of boardwalk on the Sentosa side, you will see this tent like building. This is Anar. (Anar means Pomegranate)



It was such a hot day, that the moment you get into this 'tent', you would feel so comfortable!
It's a modern and luxurious tent with air-conditioning.



When you get in, you would be wowed by this huge chandelier.

Brought into Singapore from the Middle East, this thing weights about half a tonne! Even the locals can't figure out how to hand this up and they had to fly the craftsmen in to hang it up.




The huge chandelier is hung where the private dining area is.
Look at those chairs, it's so King Arthur!

See the tiles on the walls? These are all hand crafted and brought in from Iran.
This place is interesting even before having the food!

Now for the food and drinks:



On such a warm day, we were so glad for these cool refreshing drinks.

If you are looking for something more alcoholic, Anar Guru ($20) is Fresh Anar Juice shaken with  Vodka and topped with Moet and Chandon Brut Champagne


For mocktails, I was recommended this by Kelvin. Jasmine Belle ($12) It's fresh lime & honey syrup shaken with cranberry juice and lime served tall with chilled jasmine tea.





Shortly after, we were served flat breads that's hot from the clay oven that you can see.
These are complimentary and it's really addictive. It comes with platter of pickles and cheese.

These bread goes best with these dips that you can order.



Hummus with Minced Beef ($14)
A healty dip of pureed chickpeas with sesame seed paste, fresh garlic, lemon juice and extra virgin oil topped with grilled ground beef.

We were told people in the Middle East don't eat spicy food! These are the usual stuff they have their breads with. They love sesame seed paste and it is used in most dishes. Most of the ingredients in the dips are made from food grown abundantly in the Middle East.




Moutabbal ($12)
A smoky and rich salad of roasted fresh eggplant, with sesame seed paste, crushed garlic & lemon juice, topped with chopped parsley, pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Eggplants and grown in abundance in the middle east and they mix it with sesame seed paste again and this was really interesting. The eggplants are roasted and it has a what we call a 'chao tar' (burnt) smell to it, but the whole paste is whitish and has hints of sesame seeds fragrance.




Mohammarah ($12)
A passionate, red Levantine dip of walnuts, tangy tart pomegranate, red fleshy peppers and spices.

Of all the dips, I liked this best. Maybe it's because I love red capsicums. It's not really spicy, but Toufik (the 'boss' here) said this is spicy to him. Middle Easterners don't take spicy food. Toufik's  very frank and good communicator and company.

He saw we were too delicate trying to eat the bread with us slowly peeling some bread and using our knives to spread the dips on our bread. He asked if we want to know how they eat this in the Middle East. Yes of course!

See the quartered slides of flat bread in the photo above? Take a piece of it and start to roll it. After rolling it, scoop a huge amount of spread with it. With the 4 of us guys starting to use our hands, suddenly the meal was turned into a much relaxed atmosphere! It's like a barrier just broke down!




Dejaj Salad ($14)
A Mediterranean delight,  this refreshing salad boasts grilled chicken strips,  feta cheese,  thyme, black olives drizzled with fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

Want to try a Middle Eastern salad? This was nice and refreshing. I did not notice the chicken cubes and thought they were feta cheese until I had them in my mouth.






Riz Be Lahem Ala Djaij ($35)
Traditional and regal Ottoman feast for special occasions. Egyptian long grain rice with minced meat and a Arabic spices, topped with a succulent chicken breast and roasted nuts, served with a cool yoghurt dressing.

This is just a sampling portion. People in the Middle East eat huge portions and when they first opened, guests said the portions here are too big! They have reduced the portions now.

This dish was interesting. Rice with minced meat and spices it not really my type of food.
Maybe our taste buds just needs getting used to this. Probably Middle Easterners in Singapore would be craving for this!

The way to eat it apparently is to have the yoghurt soaked over the rice and eat it.





Lamb Kubideh Kebab ($38)
Minced lamb served with Persian saffron rice

When this plate of rice was served, it was just so fragrant and fluffy!
The yellow rice on top if Saffron rice. Saffron is expensive here in Singapore but in Iran it seems it is so cheap! They grow it there and it's used in most of their dishes!

I was curious to find out how they prepared the rice. How can it be so fluffy and tasty just by itself? (Nowadays I seem to be more daring in asking how things are prepared hehe). Since I asked about it, why not share it with you all? If I got it right, here's how it's done.

The long grain rice were boiled with lots of water with a tiny bit of vinegar to give the rice an extra white appearance and also prevent the rice from sticking to each other. The hot steaming rice is then drained and a little butter is added into it and it's then it's wrapped up in foil and baked in the oven for 2 hours!

The Lamb Kebab is shown in the photo below. The kebab is made from minced lamb. It seems there are different species of lamb. The lamb they use here are imported from Dubai. The species of lamb they use apparently has more fat. (don't think yuks, but think of it like Wagyu, more marbled!)

You don't get the strong gamey smell too. Just a slight smell to remind you that it's lamb!



Shish Taouk ($32)
A traditional Babylonian recipe. Chicken breast marinated in rich yoghurt, garlic and tomato puree; then grilled over smoking charcoal and served with traditional ‘toum’ (Syrian garlic paste).

That's the yellowish chicken on the right. The chicken's tender and somehow it's a joy eating it!




Mohalabieh ($12)
The famous Arabic milk pudding, simple and delicious, with sugar and rice powder.

This is to let you know that Middle Eastern desserts are super super sweet! The arabic milk pudding is so sweet and smell very floral too! The smell of it is like walking into a Crabtree and Evelyn store! It smells flowery and sweet and this is edible!

If you have a sweet tooth, try this! The red thing you see on top is pickled orange flower petals. It's something very common in the Middle East apparently.




Baklawa ($12)
The Ottomans made it famous and brought the recipes as far as South-West Asia. Layers of paper-thin phyllo pastry are filled with roasted nuts and honey syrup.

TheHungryCow and I wondered if we could try the Baklawa and we got to try it. Toufik said that good Middle Eastern baklawa does not have heavy syrup dribbled over it. The good ones like the one we see above, the sweet layer is in between the pastry layers. Perfect with a cuppa!

Come to Anar if you want to try out real Middle Eastern food without flying to Middle East. Their food is mix of Middle Eastern / Arabian. If you think the pricing is a bit high, I noticed that on group buying site, you can buy coupons to try this place out for a cheaper price. Certain credit card has offers here too. The food's here has very good quality and I enjoyed it.
 

Anar @ Resorts World Sentosa, 26 Sentosa Gateway, #01-291 Singapore 098138 Tel: 6884 6989 Hours: 12noon-3pm; 6pm-10pm http://anarsingapore.com/

Scan QR Code for Address Details

Shiok Burger Combo @ Mel's Drive-In, Universal Studios Singapore

One more burger place that Momo and I had recently.

Momo and I are annual pass holders of Universal Studios Singapore. Since we paid good money for it, we can't let the pass go to waste. We will sneak into USS when we feel like it. We don't spend the whole day there when we visit USS. We only go in to take a few rides, screamed our heads off (to relax a bit), take a bite then go home!

We recently tried Mel's Drive-In. We are on a quest to try every restaurant at USS!



Unlike other fast food places where you order right at the serving counter, at Mel's drive-in, you order at the cashier that's before the service counter.




We saw this deal. Shiok Burger Combo. Usually $16.30 going for $12.80.
So we decided to try it. If you use the 'correct credit card', you get another 10% off! ;-)
Hint: Use DBS/POSB credit cards when you order your food, you get 10% off!




Our Shiok Burger Combo!




What a unique combination for the burger!
Spiced Chicken Floss, Fried Onion Ring, Guacamole, Turkey Bacon and a Beef Patty all in one?
It has the usual veggies, tomatoes and cheese too.



It does taste quite all right although it is like a rojak burger!

The meat floss reminds me of bread, floss and butter that mum makes for us when we were little kids.

A unique combination that's combining all the sinful food that locals love and made into a burger! Adding onion rings inside gives it come crispy bite. The guacamole was too little to be noticed.

It's a bit expensive, since it's in a theme park, the higher price is expected. If you look at the burgers elsewhere now, the prices are almost similar.

For those who are looking for ideas for home made burger, this is for you!

(Mel's Drive-In is halal certified)

Mel's Drive In
Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore
Resorts World Sentosa
Singapore.